Conception & Mission

THE CENTER

The Freeman Black Panther Research Center (BPRC) is a research center and digital archive in Los Angeles, California dedicated to the remembrance and preservation of the history, stories, members, and events of the Black liberation struggle in Southern California.

The physical and digital collection of thousands of photographs, video, news articles, literature, flyers, leaflets, pamphlets, and artifacts can be reviewed by appointment only.

BPRC is also the production office for the upcoming documentary series Black Panthers: The L.A. Story– an extended version of the award winning documentary 41st & Central- The Untold Story of the LA Black Panthers.

Named after Southern California Black Panther chapter leaders Roland and Ronald Freeman, the center not only houses an incredible collection of research, but will also begin a weekly Free Breakfast Program in April 2016.

THE CONCEPTION OF 41st & CENTRAL

In 1991 filmakers Gregory Everett and Garry Walker attended a meeting of about one hundred followers of Marcus Garvey at the Elegant Manor in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. The guest speaker spoke of the topic of AIDS possibly being a man made virus. There they met community leaders who were former Black Panthers– Roland Freeman, Wayne Pharr, Ronald Freeman, Sister Symoya, and others. After coming back for a private meeting where Roland Freeman shared with the two filmakers a scrapbook full of Black Panther information, Gregory and Garry swore one day that they would turn this incredible story into a documentary film series. Around this time Gregory started producing rap music videos, many of which were for Hip Hop superstar Tupac Shakur. After pitching the idea to Tupac Shakur in 1995, who happend to be Panther leader Geronimo Ji Jaggs's Godson, Tupac said if Gregory could figure out how to do it, then he would fund the project. So Gregory tried to figure it out. Should he pitch it to PBS? The only documentary channels on cable at the time was the History Channel and the Bio Channel, or should he try and make it himself? A year later while still trying to figure it out, Tupac was murdered, and the project stalled.

As the 90's came to an end Gregory and Garry lost contact with Roland Freeman, but never gave up on wanting to see the project through. Within the next few years there was a shift in the ability to make film on one's own. The development of "Prosumer" cameras and an editing system called Final Cut Pro enabled filmakers to produce broadcast quality work without the help of studios or networks. Gregory Everett had become a successful music video director/producer/editor using the latest technology. It was the perfect time to make the Panther documentary. Now one problem, Gregory could not find the Black Panther subjects.

One day in 2005 sitting in traffic on the corner of Stocker and La Brea in Baldwin Hills, Gregory heard a horn honk. He looked to his side and saw the key to the entire project, the Panther who originally shared the information with him– Roland Freeman. Gregory and Garry went over Roland's house that night and started shooting the documentary that Roland called– 41st and Central. 41st and Central Roland explained, was the corner in South Central Los Angeles where the Southern California Chapter of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense housed it's offices.

In one month they had a 3 minute trailer. The next year 2006, a 27 minute short had been produced, and in 2007 executive producers Julius Turrentine, Damon Jones, and Carl Craig came on board. In February of 2008 the team had produced a new and improved 16 minute short. Two months later in April a feature length version of the concept from 1992 would come to life and premier on the campus of UCLA– a few hundred yards from where two of the films subjects had been murdered 40 years earlier.

The film would go through 5 more edits where new people would come forth for interviews, but keeping the running time at the 2 hour maximum would require extensive editing to add new subjects while subtracting the footage to keep the film at time.

Several film festivals later, and too many screenings to count at various schools, libraries, museums, homes, etc.– brings us to 2016.

BLACK PANTHERS: THE L.A. STORY

We have lost some of our subjects. Geronimo, Wayne Pharr, Ronald Freeman, and especially the sudden death of the Co-Executive Producer of our film Roland Freeman, has put us on a mission.

This brings us to BLACK PANTHERS: THE L.A. STORY, which tells the story of the Southern California Chapter, Bunchy Carter, and the shoot out at 41st and Central through an eight part documentary series. We are currently in pre-production of this project, and we need your help. There are 2 ways you can support. One way is through supplying us with perdinate information in reguards to interviews, artifacts, historical video, photographs, or in-kind donations to benifet the production of the project.

For this type of support please contact us below...

The other way to support our project is through cash donations. These donations can be made directly to our pay pal account and will be used immediatly towards the current production of the project. Our online newsletter will keep supporters in touch with our current production status along with behind the scenes peeks of the production of 41st & Central: Reloaded! Select the "Donate" button below.

Thank You

Gregory Everett

Director / Executive Producer